Israeli defense electronics company Elbit Systems Ltd. (Nasdaq: ESLT; TASE: ESLT) reported increased revenue and profit for the fourth quarter of 2016. Revenue rose to $953.7 million in the fourth quarter, up 7% from $886.6 million in the corresponding quarter of 2015. For the full year of 2016, revenue was $3.260 billion up slightly from $3.108 billion in 2015.
Non-GAAP net profit in the fourth quarter was $77.7 million ($1.82 per share), up 5% from $74.2 million ($1.74 per share) in the corresponding quarter of 2015. Non-GAAP net profit for full year 2016 was $254.2 million ($5.95 per share) up 5% from $242.4 million ($5.67 per share) in 2015.
Elbit System's backlog of orders at the end of 2016 was $6.9 billion, up from $6.5 billion at the end of 2015. 68% of the orders are for overseas clients and 69% of the orders will be delivered in 2017 and 2018. Elbit will distribute a dividend of $0.44 per share for the fourth quarter.
Elbit Systems president and CEO Bezhalel Machlis said "Our fourth quarter results culminate a good year for Elbit Systems. In addition to the increase in revenues, our backlog continued its positive trend in 2016. Thanks to our growth and operating efficiency measures, we were able to increase our investments in R&D and marketing in order to capitalize on many of the opportunities in our markets and still produce a nice improvement in net income, year over year."
He added, "In today’s geopolitical environment we see increasing demand for our solutions in many markets, and we are pursuing increased opportunities around the world. Based on these opportunities and a growing backlog, we believe that we have the potential for further improvement and growth."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on March 22, 2017
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